TL;DR

• The 2026 State of Digital Services Survey is live! Participate and get the results for free.​
• We received more interest than expected in our new Revgen 2.0 service, so we will need to move to a waitlist for now. Join the list if you'd like to spend time on something OTHER than constant revgen challenges.​
• AI is increasing pricing pressure, and discounting or “value engineering” scope often leaves clients with work that doesn't deliver the outcome they want.
• A Minimum Effective Engagement (MEE) is the smallest engagement you can sell that still solves the client’s problem to a satisfactory level.
• To define your MEE, you need a clear map of the real problem space clients are buying (conversion, authority, sales efficiency), not the deliverables (websites, content, design).
• Use retrospectives + interviews (especially with prospects) to understand what they’re solving, what it’s worth, constraints, alternatives, and org priorities, then define the set of activities you control that covers the solution.
• The right MEE often means reducing scope inside a full value chain (e.g., one ICP instead of many, but still doing research → strategy → creation → activation) rather than cutting to a single downstream deliverable that depends on everything else being done well.
• Mapping the problem space also shows where “speed bumps” live upstream/downstream, which enables intelligent service expansion: add only the specific adjacent services required for success, so your solution is turnkey.
• Keep selling the full transformation since it's the most compelling and lets you display your expertise.
• When prospects push back, fall back to the MEE as the smallest version that still works and lets you prove value while building the relationship.

Announcing the 2026 State of Digital Services Survey!

We’re back to help digital shop owners better understand their industry.

This report covers:

• AI implementation rates
• Average revenue growth rates
• Agency profitability
• Utilization rates
• Hourly rate data
• Pricing models
• Service mix shifts
• Key trends shaping the industry
• And more!

As a thank you, everyone who participates will receive access to the full report when it’s completed.

We're Booked

Last time, we announced beta spots for our new revgen service that includes a deep dive into your agency's vision, positioning, roles, pricing, services, messaging, sales process, and more to tell leaders exactly where their revgen blind spots are.

You're all good if we already have a call scheduled, and we'll be opening up more spots soon if you haven't had a chance.

Join the waitlist to be the first to know when new spots open up!

What’s your Minimum Effective Engagement?

By this point, I’m sure we’re all familiar with the concept of a Minimum Viable Product. The most bare-bones test of a startup’s assumption that’s specifically under-engineered.

This isn’t that.

The MVP concept has been used in the agency and service spaces before, and it’s great for what it does, but with AI forcing shops to reevaluate their value, we need something else.

We do extensive deep dives into agency revgen strategy, structure, and tactics, and we’ve seen a number of agencies get pushback on pricing lately. (We’re fully booked on these, but jump on the waitlist if you’re interested in actually fixing your agency’s revgen issues)

There’s always been pricing pressure in the marketplace, but AI has given procurement departments new ammo, and it’s annoyingly effective.

Rather than offering discounts, which I really don’t love, leaders tend to adjust scope and value engineer the engagement instead. Sometimes this works well, but other times it falls flat. You end up with a smaller engagement than you’d like, and they end up with something that doesn’t fully solve the problem. The effect is muted because they specifically muted it by cutting out what makes your work successful. That’s frustrating for everyone.

A Minimum Effective Engagement (MEE) solves this, but it’s only possible when you genuinely understand the challenges and constraints your clients face.

A MEE is the smallest unit of value that you can provide that still solves the client's problem to a satisfactory degree.

It’ll probably be larger than your standard discounted or value-engineered engagement, but it’ll also be more effective.

It’s also simple to explain to clients why the scope (and price) is X and why X-1 isn’t workable.

Finding Your MEE by Defining the Problem Space

I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but it’s absolutely essential that you understand what you’re solving for your clients, how they think about the problem, and the constraints they face in solving it.

No sophisticated buyer is buying a website, blog posts, or a flashy brand. They’re buying what those things unlock. They’re buying better conversion rates, authority in a new market, or reduced friction in the sales process.

When you understand the result your clients are purchasing, and the other options they’re weighing your solution against, the way you package and position your solution becomes clear.

Beyond running retrospectives for a ton of projects, interviews are a fantastic way to map out the boundaries.

Specifically ask about what they’re solving, what they know about the problem, what it’s worth to them (their perspective), what’s in their way, what their options are, what their org’s priorities are that govern this problem, etc.

These can be done with prior clients, but they’re especially helpful when run with new prospects.

This is a key way agencies have repositioned themselves to act in more of a strategic advisor capacity over the last 5ish years.

Ultimately, you need to arrive at a set of activities within your agency’s control that cover the vast majority of the solution.

An example could be a content marketing agency where the full problem space includes ICP research, content strategy, content creation, and promotion/activation. An MEE for this agency would look like an ICP engagement that focuses on a single ICP vs. the multiple ones that brands typically focus on. For that single ICP, they’ll still do the research, content strategy, creation, and promotion/activation. By reducing scope this way, the agency is still able to demonstrate its expertise in a significant way.

If they instead do what most agencies do and only offer the content creation, they’re at the mercy of all the other steps in the value chain, and it's less likely that the client will get the ROI they're hoping for.

Intelligent Service Expansion

As you explore the problem space, it quickly becomes clear where the speed bumps live. These differ from blockers, as the work will still happen, but its effectiveness is muted.

Agency work is typically a discrete step in a broader process.

• Websites are done after a marketing plan.
• Content is done after ICP work.
• Design is done after branding.

For you to be successful at solving the client’s real problem (often sales), you’re relying on the quality of the upstream and downstream work.

Even when shops produce the highest quality work possible, if the direction is off because the client’s strategy is off, the relationship still suffers.

This is where agencies can intelligently expand their service mix without the risk of diluting their perceived quality.

It works because it gives them the ability to show a prospect the full picture of their challenge, discuss the pitfalls, and demonstrate their expertise in overcoming them.

It turns the engagement into a turnkey solution rather than the prospect needing to find 3-5 separate agencies to piece together to get the results they’re looking for.

Please don’t confuse this with “full service” agencies.

Those are ones that show a menu of 27 services where they’re experts in none. What I’m describing is being an expert in a problem space where success happens to require these 4-7 specific services.

Exploring the problem space fully will tell you which services are needed.

Still Sell The Full Solution

Imagine what you’d be able to do with a blank check from a client who was truly motivated to solve the problem.

You could probably transform their business.

That transformation is what’s interesting to C-level decision makers.

It’s what talks, posts, and newsletters are about that actually get traction with your ICP because it lets you zoom from a 10,000ft view to small intricacies without losing the plot.

Then you really begin to pull away from the noise when you layer on the opportunity to innovate in your solution.

It’s important that you put this thinking out there. Build it into content across your funnel, but especially at the end, during the sales process.

This is also a great way to break through procurement. When you’re solving C-level problems, your advocates can more easily make exceptions and fast-track you through the process.

Finally, it allows you to expand your case studies and ROI calculations to encompass the total impact you’re able to have. These are often wildly larger numbers than those from the discrete components.

Keep Your MEE as a Fallback

When the inevitable pushback from a prospect occurs, fall back to your MEE. This will allow you to get to know one another in a way that still allows you to solve a slice of their challenge and demonstrate expertise across your service lines.

I hope this helps your shop continue to win clients while improving the outcomes and relationships.

Until next time!